KU First surpasses goal; more than $653 million raised for KU

KU First: Invest in Excellence, the third and largest fund-raising campaign for the University of Kansas, has raised more than $653 million to benefit the students, faculty, facilities and programs of KU on all of its campuses.

The total includes all gifts to KU Endowment given or pledged during KU First, which ran from July 1, 1998, through Dec. 31, 2004. The amount raised was announced Jan. 21 during an event hosted by the Kansas University Endowment Association for KU First volunteers and donors.

“Thanks to the generosity of more than 100,000 KU alumni and friends, the landscape of the University on many levels has changed from what it was in 1998,” Chancellor Robert Hemenway said. “We have a greater ability to attract and retain faculty with international reputations for research and teaching, who in turn motivate top graduate and undergraduate students to attend KU and bring research dollars to the state of Kansas. We can offer hundreds more scholarships for high-achieving students and those in need. We have new facilities in which to house and teach students, conduct research and offer state-of-the art medical care.

“Through the generosity of private donors,” Hemenway continued, “the horizons of current and future KU students – and those of the people of Kansas and its economy -- have broadened.” Read the full story at the KU Endowment Association Website.